Study shows that dogs that remain calm and show empathy during their owner’s distress help out faster

Many dogs show empathy if their owner is in distress and will also try to help rescue them. This is according to Emily M. Sanford, formerly of Macalester College and now at Johns Hopkins University in the US. She is the lead author of a study in Springer’s journal Learning and Behavior that tested whether there is truth in the notion that dogs have a prosocial and empathetic nature. Interesting to note, the study found that dogs specially trained for visitations as therapy dogs are just as likely to help as other dogs.

In one of their experiments, Sanford and her colleagues instructed the owners of 34 dogs to either give distressed cries or to hum while sitting behind a see-through closed door. Sixteen of these dogs were registered therapy dogs. The researchers watched what the dogs did, and also measured their heart rate variability to see how they physically reacted to the situation. In another part of the experiment, the researchers examined how these same dogs gazed at their owners to measure the strength of their relationship.

Dogs that heard distress calls were no more likely to open a door than dogs that heard someone humming. However, they opened the door much faster if their owner was crying. Based on their physiological and behavioural responses, dogs who opened the door were, in fact, less stressed than they were during baseline measurements, indicating that those who could suppress their own distress were the ones who could jump into action.

The study therefore provides evidence that dogs not only feel empathy towards people, but in some cases also act on this empathy. This happens especially when they are able to suppress their own feelings of distress and can focus on those of the human involved. According to Sanford, this is similar to what is seen when children need to help others. They are only able to do so when they can suppress their own feelings of personal distress.

“It appears that adopting another’s emotional state through emotional contagion alone is not sufficient to motivate an empathetic helping response; otherwise, the most stressed dogs could have also opened the door,” explains co-author Julia Meyers-Manor of Ripon College in the US. “The extent of this empathetic response and under what conditions it can be elicited deserve further investigation, especially as it can improve our understanding of the shared evolutionary history of humans and dogs.”

Contrary to expectation, the sixteen therapy dogs in the study performed as well as the other dogs when tested on opening the door. According to Meyers-Manor this may be because registered therapy dogs, despite what people may think, do not possess traits that make them more attentive or responsive to human emotional states. She says that therapy dog certification tests involve skills based more on obedience rather than on human-animal bonding.

“It might be beneficial for therapy organizations to consider more traits important for therapeutic improvement, such as empathy, in their testing protocols,” adds Meyers-Manor. “It would also be interesting to determine whether service dogs show a different pattern of results given their extensive training in attentiveness to their human companions.”

A successful pilot study that helped to reduced behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) was conducted on 15 nursing homes residents living with dementia who were exhibiting agitation and aggression. The study was carried out over a period of nine weeks on weekdays (2.30pm – 3.30pm) in two nursing homes that offering recreation programs. The team providing the intervention consisted of therapeutic recreation staff, therapy dogs, and their handlers. Residents in the program could play, pet, feed. chat or just talk about pets that they had in the past or just chat with the handlers. At three weeks, changes in the reduction in behaviour were apparent and after nine weeks, it was found that agitated behaviours were reduced and the residents in the program have become more engaged.

This study was published in the American journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and other Dementias by Nancy Richeson from the College of Nursing and Health Professions in the University of Southern Maine, Portland.

Happy National Dogs Day everyone! I wanted to write a post to acknowledge the good work that dogs do in Dementia Care. To say a big thank you to all the beautiful canines and their wonderful owners who have selflessly devoted their time and efforts to improving the quality of care and services in dementia.

So some people may wonder, what can dogs do for dementia?

Here are some videos that can help share their good work.

Dementia Dogs help to support people with dementia and enhance their quality of lives by building a relationship together. Dogs will help in the care of the person by encouraging

Mobility and Physical Activity

Routines (Sleep and Meals)

Medication Management

Companionship, Confidence and care

To all the awesome Canines out there thank you for the wonderful work that you do and Happy National Dogs Day! I’m a day late but I wanted to say Thank you! 😀